The Order: 1886’s Mixed Signals

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We’ve finally seen it with our own eyes.

By Colin Moriarty

The alternate history slant of The Order: 1886 speaks to me. After all, few things are more interesting than taking the historical record and bending and twisting it to make something new, yet subtly recognizable. Ready at Dawn’s upcoming PlayStation 4-exclusive title strives to do just that, marrying its so-called “Neo-Victorian,” alternate-history story and aesthetic with more standard conventions of the third-person shooter genre.

Such secrecy raises a healthy amount of skepticism in our show-me industry, especially when talking about a game in active development since 2010 (and “incubating” since 2006). I can’t help but think of The Last of Us’ rock-solid demo shown at E3 2012, a full year before the game launched, and wonder why Ready at Dawn and Sony seem so unwilling to showcase what is arguably the year’s biggest and most important PlayStation 4-exclusive title. Is it because Ready at Dawn is worried about showing too much, about being spoilery? Or is The Order: 1886 simply not ready for primetime?

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The brief 10- minute hands-off demo I witnessed confirmed some of my fears.

The brief 10-minute hands-off demo I witnessed confirmed some of my fears. The portion of the adventure I saw ran relatively poorly, with sudden, sharp transitions between scenes, audio issues, and a lagging framerate. Ready at Dawn’s CEO and Founder Ru Weerasuriya was quick to point out that this sliver of the game wasn’t QA tested and optimized at all, and that there might be problems. But I was left wondering how this could be the best 10 minutes of the game the studio had to show, especially when he reiterated that The Order would indeed launch in 2014.

Galahad and Lafayette survey the scene.

The demo takes place in the infamous Whitechapel section of London, where Jack the Ripper’s still-unsolved murders occurred. It’s here that we’re introduced to our heroes – select members of the Order familiar to anyone who’s seen the game’s lone trailer -- and also to a sect known as The Rebellion. The Rebellion is largely made up of London’s underclass, a group hell-bent on fighting the Order, who they look at as only protecting and battling for society’s well-to-do, upper class citizens. Unfortunately, the supernatural elements alluded to in The Order’s only trailer weren’t referenced at all during the demo.

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The Rebellion is largely made up of London’s underclass, a group hell-bent on fighting the Order...

The Order: 1886 absolutely nails its period costumes and its wonderfully realized, believable setting. London looks dark, dreary, and perpetually overcast, exactly as you’d expect from a heavily-industrialised Britain. Ready at Dawn’s brilliance is shown with its understated odes to history and alternate history alike. The blimps flying through the air weren’t actually invented until years after the game takes place, yet you believe they should be there, and so they are. On the other hand, the navy blue outfits worn by The Order look old-school, yet timeless, with the Rebellion wearing similar dusters that pin them firmly to the late 19th century.

The demo focused on two members of The Order in particular – the experienced Galahad and the young Lafayette – as they head into Rebellion-occupied territory in search of something never expanded upon (likely to avoid spoilers). 1886’s graphics are decidedly beautiful – Ready at Dawn’s claim that the trailer shown at E3 last year was all in-game was essentially confirmed – and I was left especially impressed by the faces of the characters. Clearly, a lot of love was put into making The Order: 1886 look gorgeous.

Ready... aim... fire!

But the game quickly turned into something a bit more typical the further we got into the demo. Technical issues aside, seamless transitions between cutscenes and gameplay are well-executed, but The Order: 1886 seems to be a fairly ordinary third-person shooter at its core. The camera angle and cover-based gameplay are more reminiscent of Gears of War than Uncharted, and while seeing it was exciting – and while the game no doubt looks fun – some of its mystique was siphoned away. We weren’t shown anything in this brief 10-minute glimpse not done in other third-person shooters. There are even quick-time events. Still, I did love 1886’s clean HUD. Your weapon and ammo count are only shown during battle, so as to not muddy the screen during exploration, with weapon swapping seemingly mapped to the directional pad.

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The camera angle and cover-based gameplay are more reminiscent of Gears of War than Uncharted...

As Galahad and Lafayette run around Whitechapel, dashing in and out of disheveled-looking houses, through doors and out windows, one thing that stuck out to me was the different kinds of weapons available. Even though we’ve seen some unbelievable firearms in the past, I loved that not everyone used them. Members of the Rebellion were equipped with standard (yet still ahead of their time) machineguns, while representatives of the Order were able to use some outrageous gear, including a gun that shoots huge bursts of air. Interestingly, the lack of balance was addressed in-game, as it seems the Rebellion is actively going after the Order’s specially-made gear in an attempt to turn the tide.

Time to hide.

Still, even with The Order: 1886’s emphasis on alternate history and its melding of timelines (like the aforementioned inclusion of blimps not yet invented by 1886), not everything seemed like it belonged. Members of the Order used walkie-talkies attached to their chests, for instance, which just seemed strange, especially alongside the period-accurate use of Morse Code, which is cleverly executed by tapping on the DualShock 4’s touch pad. Somewhere in the middle of believable and unbelievable was the telescope they used to glimpse far-off sections of London, which melded a rustic look and feel with futuristic technology.

If anything, my brief time seeing The Order: 1886 left me a bit confused. On a technical level, I’m somewhat concerned about the game, and I’m concerned that it seemed a bit more generic than I was hoping it would be. Then again, I’m also left excited about the prospect of seeing more, of gaining a better understanding of the game’s lore, direction, and purpose. Hopefully, we’ll get a deeper, more in-depth look soon.